Former Liverpool goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek has watched with interest as Jurgen Klopp has begun his rebuilding job at Anfield.

As a proud Pole, the Champions League-winning goalkeeper has also witnessed the effect the German boss had on several of his country men at Borrusia Dortmund.

Here Dudek tells the Liverpool Echo's Neil Jones that Reds fans are in for an exciting ride.

Polish football has a lot to thank Jurgen Klopp for.

The Liverpool manager’s influence can be seen across their current national team squad. Adam Nawalka’s side will head to this summer’s European Championships as dark horses, a team capable of surprising anyone on their day.

They did so in qualifying, beating World Champions Germany in Warsaw. With the likes of Lukasz Piszczek, Jakub Blaszczykowski and, of course, Robert Lewandowski in their squad, Poland feel they are more than capable of repeating that feat in France.

Jerzy Dudek certainly agrees. And the former Liverpool goalkeeper says that if his home country does enjoy success this summer, then Klopp will deserve a slice of the credit.

“He had a major impact on those players,” Dudek told the Liverpool Echo. “I don’t know if you remember but Lewandowski in his first one-and-a-half years at Dortmund, well he did not play so well.

“He didn’t score so many goals, and he played a bit deeper to start with. He certainly wasn’t at the level we are seeing now.

“It was the same with Kuba (Błaszczykowski) as well. But what Klopp did was he worked with those guys a lot, he gave them confidence and you could see the progress that they made at that club.”

Dudek on his new sporting career...

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Lewandowski has spoken recently of how being played by Klopp as a no 10 during his first season in Germany initially confused him, but says he now understands how crucial it was to his development. Now at Bayern Munich, he credits Klopp’s work for turning him into one of Europe’s deadliest marksmen.

“Klopp is patient,” says Dudek. “He doesn’t put pressure on players, he supports them and talks to them.

“He did exactly that with Lewandowski. He waited, he was patient and in the end it all clicked in spectacular fashion.

“Sometimes it can be the difference between one word. A positive word can change things and so can a negative one. It comes down to the trust between a coach and his player. With the Polish players at Dortmund, they trusted Klopp and he trusted them. And look at the progress they made.”

The hope, of course, is that Klopp can repeat that kind of progress at Liverpool.

Comparisons have already been made between the job he has inherited at Anfield and the one he took on with Dortmund. Dudek sees them, and believes Liverpool are lucky to have the German.

“Like Liverpool, they had to build something from new,” he says. “Klopp did that. That gives me confidence he can do the same with us.

“The good news is that they signed Klopp at the right time. To be honest I was scared that someone else would sign him before us.

“You don’t get many managers on the market who will guarantee a good project for the future. I think Liverpool need someone like Klopp, who will build and bring the success back.

“Right now, we live in hope, and that hope is based only on Klopp to be honest, because the team is perhaps not so strong at this moment.”

Klopp declined the chance to strengthen that squad in the January transfer window. Steven Caulker was Liverpool’s only signing – though a summer deal for Marko Grujic was also arranged. For now, Klopp’s faith is in his current players, however maligned.

“He’s different to other managers,” Dudek says. “Most managers who take over a club in October would say ‘I need new players’ or ‘I need £100m to spend,’ but Klopp didn’t do that.

“He knows it is easy to waste money, but he also wants to give the current players a chance. At the end of the season, he will make his decisions and for sure he will bring new players in. It will be an interesting time.

“We need success, that’s clear. Everybody in the city wants success. But if you ask me, we need three good players at least.

“We need a spine. It is much easier to build around a spine, and let’s hope that something can happen in that regard this summer.

“The positive thing is Klopp. Everyone is talking about him – they are criticising players, but they believe that the manager can change things. I do too.”